The Rockies Honor Keli McGregor, While Jimenez Aims for 20 Wins

Before today’s game, the Colorado Rockies will unveil a permanent memorial at Coors Field to former team president Keli McGregor, who died in April from a rare virus at age 47 (via MLB.com). The event will place a permanent “KSM” on the outfield wall and could stir up emotions that rocked the team earlier this year. “Obviously, we’re going to revisit something that was really, really tough much earlier in the season,” says manager Jim Tracy. McGregor’s premature death shocked the franchise, and his number 88 jersey has hung in the team’s dugout during every game since.

Making the occasion even more somber is the ostensible end of the season. The Rockies have won just three of their last 10 games, and last night’s deflating 3-1 loss to the woeful Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field clearly didn’t help. The Rox are now five games back in the division and four-and-a-half games behind in the wild-card race, although they could be eliminated as soon as tomorrow.

Still, last night offered a different goal, as star pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez attempted his 20th win in his final home start of the year, a high-water mark for Major League pitchers. Twenty wins seemed inevitable when Jimenez was 15-1 going into the All-Star break, but as The Denver Post points out, he’s just 4-7 since then. Jimenez will have this season’s last chance to get his 20th win on the road Saturday in St. Louis.